‘Kane is fine & back in training’ England’s captain fit for USA
England take on the USA in Group B of the World Cup on Friday in Qatar. The Three Lions won their opening game in style against Iran, cruising to a 6-2 victory as Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish all on the scoresheet for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Harry Kane has shaken off an injury scare and is fit to play after undergoing a scan on his ankle this week, while Harry Maguire has also declared himself ready to start following an illness.
England will want to end an unwanted record and claim their first victory over the USA at a World Cup. The USA famously defeated England at the 1950 World Cup, before Rob Green’s error resulted in a 1-1 draw in South Africa in 2010.
This USA side arrived in Qatar with lofty expectations but were held in their opener by Wales, despite dominating the first half. Greg Berhalter’s side could not handle the physicality of Kieffer Moore but will look for a response at the Al Bayt Stadium. Follow all the latest England World Cup news ahead of the match against the USA, below.
World Cup 2022: England vs USA
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World Cup 2022: England vs USA
Southgate acknowledged that England have faced some criticism for dropping their plan to wear the armbands. Two other members of the OneLove group, Belgium and Switzerland, also declined to make gestures during their respective opening matches.
“We’re definitely highly supportive of our LGBTQ fanbase and I know some of them feel a little disappointed in terms of the armband not being worn,” added Southgate.
“We will be criticised for that, but sometimes we’ve just got to accept the criticism and move on with it. I think if we’re confident about ourselves and where we stand, we shouldn’t worry about needing to do something (in order) to be seen to be doing it.”
It is understood Germany will face no disciplinary action from Fifa under Article 11 of the code. It states anyone “using a sports event for demonstrations of a non-sporting nature” may be sanctioned.
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 22:00
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World Cup 2022: England vs USA
Gareth Southgate has not ruled out his England team making a gesture to highlight human rights concerns at the Qatar World Cup but says they will not be pressured into doing so.
The German team covered their mouths for the team photo before their opening World Cup match against Japan on Wednesday, while the Australia squad released a video highlighting issues in the host country.
Seven European nations competing at the World Cup – including Germany, England and Wales – planned to wear OneLove anti-discrimination armbands during the tournament, but were dissuaded from doing so following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.
Southgate, whose team face the United States in their second match on Friday, said: “I don’t think we should feel any pressure – I think we’ve spoken on these particular topics for over a year and we’ve supported all manner of good causes either as individuals or the collective.
“I think there’s a risk that everybody tries to escalate – if we tried to do a better video than Australia did, that would be impossible; whether we try to come up with a better gesture than Germany.
“I think we’ve got to be comfortable that we know what we stand for. That’s not to say we won’t do anything moving forward if the timing’s right, but I think we are rushing to be seen to be doing something, we could make an error that doesn’t land well.”
(PA)
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 20:59
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Gareth Southgate has insisted he would not be getting carried away following Monday’s convincing victory over Iran.
“We’re good at talking highly of ourselves as a nation and on the basis of very little evidence,” he added. “What we’ve got to do is perform on the field.
“We know we’ll be playing a highly motivated team, but we’ve got huge respect for our opponents, we know a lot of them from our league and we know the quality and athleticism they have.
“The risk for us is that we think because we played well the other day we can just go through to the next game.
“We’ve got to find that reset button to have the same psychology and determination. So I don’t think we will be underestimating the USA team at all.”
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 20:00
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World Cup 2022: England vs USA
Gareth Southgate said it would be a “brave decision” to leave Harry Kane out of his England starting line-up against the United States after confirming the striker had come through training with a clean bill of health.
Kane suffered a knock after a clumsy challenge by Morteza Pouraliganji in England’s 6-2 win against Iran on Monday – the national team’s biggest ever win at the start of a major tournament.
The Spurs striker, who has a history of ankle problems, did play on for 25 minutes but was seen limping after the game and went for a precautionary scan.
However, Kane has returned to training without issue and Southgate suggested his captain will feature from the start on Friday.
“Harry’s good,” he said. “He came through training, no problems, so it would be a brave decision to leave him out of the starting team.”
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 19:00
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World Cup 2022: England vs USA
There will be a strong Premier League contingent in the US side on Friday, with Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic and Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner joined by the Fulham duo of Antonee Robinson and Tim Ream.
Leeds’ Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams join them in the set-up, with the latter hoping to skipper the side to a famous win on Friday.
“It would mean a lot,” the 23-year-old captain said as the US look to maintain their unbeaten World Cup record against England, which includes a famous 1-0 win in 1950 and 1-1 draw 60 years later.
“I think most importantly it would mean a lot to the team because we’ve been trying to progress this thing along for the past three years.
“We’ve been moving in the right direction so I think ultimately capitalising tomorrow would mean we’re continuing to move in the right direction.”
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 18:01
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World Cup 2022: England vs USA
United States boss Gregg Berhalter called England a “formidable opponent” and praised Gareth Southgate to the hilt – despite being ignoring by the England manager ahead of Friday’s World Cup clash.
An impressive 6-2 victory against Iran in Monday’s Group B opener means Southgate’s men will seal progress to the last 16 with a match to spare if they beat the US in Al Khor.
The States head into Friday’s Al Bayt Stadium encounter looking to build on their 1-1 draw with Wales but Berhalter is wary of the threat posed by England, who he called a “scary” prospect in the build-up.
The US boss has praised Southgate for making the England shirt “a cape rather than a straitjacket” since taking over at a low ebb in 2016, before leading them to the World Cup semi-finals and last year’s Euros final.
“I think when he first took over it was very similar to the position that I first took over,” said Berhalter, who was appointed in late 2018 as the US rebuilt after failing to reach that year’s World Cup.
“Trying to reshape the identity of the team, refocus, working with a younger group of players, so in that case very similar.
“Just following some of the things over the last months, the pressure in the English media, or in England in general, is tremendous and I think that’s different.
“These guys (in the US media) give me a hard time every once in a while, but I don’t think it’s of the magnitude that Gareth gets it.
“But we all know this is a result-orientated business and we’re all held accountable for results on the field.
“I think he’s done a great job. I’ve been saying for the last year-and-a-half that his record at major tournaments has been outstanding and there’s no denying that – fourth place finish in 2018, second place finish at the Euros.
“He’s done a great job with his team. They got off to a great start and they’re a formidable opponent. It’s going to be a difficult game for us.”
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 18:00
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World Cup 2022: England vs USA
England take on the USA in Group B of the World Cup on Friday in Qatar. The Three Lions won their opening game in style against Iran, cruising to a 6-2 victory as Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish all on the scoresheet for Gareth Southgate’s side.
Harry Kane has shaken off an injury scare and is fit to play after undergoing a scan on his ankle this week, while Harry Maguire has also declared himself ready to start following an illness.
England will want to end an unwanted record and claim their first victory over the USA at a World Cup. The USA famously defeated England at the 1950 World Cup, before Rob Green’s error resulted in a 1-1 draw in South Africa in 2010.
This USA side arrived in Qatar with lofty expectations but were held in their opener by Wales, despite dominating the first half. Greg Berhalter’s side could not handle the physicality of Kieffer Moore but will look for a response at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Southgate warned he expects a different level of opposition from the Americans after England enjoyed a relatively easy opener against Iran.
“I think tomorrow’s game will be very different to the first match,” added Southgate. “They are a team that press the ball really well and who have, with respect, probably a level of player that has more experience of playing in top-level European leagues.
“In terms of tomorrow’s game, it’s not going to be the pattern of the previous one.”
Ben Burrows24 November 2022 17:59